Image: n/a
About This Quiz
Jason Vorhees. Freddy Krueger. Chucky. Those are names that fill any horror fan with fear. The '80s were prime time for horror movies, and some of the best ever made came from the decade. How well do you know the '80s horror classics?
n/a
Which '80s horror classic is this?
Motel Hell
A Nightmare on Elm Street
Freddy Krueger is one of the most terrifying horror villains of all time. The actor who plays him, Robert Englund, is actually a friendly, shortish fellow with an engaging smile and no razorblade hands whatsoever.
Phantasm
Halloween
TriStar Pictures, FilmDistrict, Ghost House Pictures
Which '80s horror classic is this?
The Evil Dead
Sam Raimi's "Evil Dead" trilogy is a huge favorite among camp horror fans. The first two movies have essentially the same plot, but watch them anyway.
Day of the Dead
Army of Darkness
Return of the Living Dead
The Movie DB
Which '80s horror classic is this?
House
The Exorcist II
Day of the Dead
Poltergeist
Perhaps no '80s horror movie hit at the heart of suburban living the way "Poltergeist" did. A happy family moves into their dream home ... and then all hell breaks loose.
Advertisement
tmdb
Which '80s horror classic is this?
Return of the Living Dead
The Evil Dead II
What happens in a horror movie when the hero loses a hand? He replaces it with a chainsaw, of course! That's one of the highlights of this flick.
Critters
Army of Darkness
The Movie DB
Which '80s horror classic is this?
The Shining
Fun fact: Stephen King doesn't particularly care for this movie, made from one of his early novels. There are major plot and setting changes. You can't argue with Jack Nicholson's performance, though!
The Omen
Halloween
House
YouTube
Which '80s horror classic is this?
Gremlins
The Thing
In the annals of remakes that outdo the original, this one stands out. Kurt Russell's gruff performance and the gory/hilarious creature effects (head-spider, anyone?) make this one of the best of the '80s.
The Howling
Aliens
Advertisement
The Movie DB
Which '80s horror classic is this?
Re-Animator
From Beyond
Hellraiser
"Hellraiser" took British-made horror to new heights, and introduced American audiences to twisted author Clive Barker. Pinhead, the villain in the franchise, is one of the most chilling creatures in movie history.
Return of the Living Dead
tmdb
Which '80s horror classic is this?
The Fly
Child's Play
Critters
Gremlins
"Gremlins" looks on the surface like a fairly benign creature flick, but it's much more than that on close examination. Director Joe Dante slipped in biting commentary on consumerism, religion and society among the flying fur.
YouTube
Which '80s horror classic is this?
From Beyond
Hellraiser II
Would you believe the Hellraiser franchise is still around? There's even been one done with a space station that folded into the infamous puzzle box.
House
Poltergeist
Advertisement
tmdb
Which '80s horror classic is this?
Re-Animator
The first of a series of camp horror films loosely based on the works of H.P. Lovecraft, "Re-Animator" has one of the best taglines of all time: "Herbert West has a good head on his shoulders ... and another one in a dish on his desk." Bring your popcorn!
Return of the Living Dead
Day of the Dead
Serpent and the Rainbow
YouTube
Which '80s horror classic is this?
The Howling
Critters
An American Werewolf in London
This stylish flick was one of three werewolf-themed movies released in 1981. It certainly didn't do wonders for London's tourism department!
Nightbreed
YouTube
Which '80s horror classic is this?
House
Nightbreed
Re-Animator
From Beyond
If "Re-Animator" wasn't quite weird enough for you, try this flick. There are overtones of sado-masochism and science run wild among the blood and gore.
Advertisement
YouTube
Which '80s horror classic is this?
The Lost Boys
If you can only think of Kiefer Sutherland as the hero of "24," you need to see this. He plays the sinister leader of a band of teen vampires in California, and his hair is perfect.
Children of the Corn
Night Flier
The Tommyknockers
YouTube
Which '80s horror classic is this?
Poltergeist
Fright Night
Like "Poltergeist," this movie did a great job of tapping into suburban anxiety. Imagine you move into a new house only to discover your next-door neighbor is a vampire!
A Nightmare on Elm Street
Halloween
SLM Production Group, Brooksfilms
Which '80s horror classic is this?
Sleepaway Camp
Critters
The Fog
The Fly
Jeff Goldblum was just a middling-successful actor before he became The Fly. It was a science-horror thriller than won awards for the creature effects.
Advertisement
tmdb
Which '80s horror classic is this?
Return of the Living Dead
Prince of Darkness
Day of the Dead
We owe much of our current zombie film culture to George A. Romero's "Dead" trilogy. This one was a fitting end, showing humanity coming to terms with zombies and even trying to "train" them.
The Creeps
YouTube
Which '80s horror classic is this?
Magic
Poltergeist
Halloween
Child's Play
Dolls are pretty creepy to begin with, and it gets even worse when they're possessed by a serial killer's spirit. Having Brad Dourif provide Chuck's voice completed the creepy picture.
YouTube
Which '80s horror classic is this?
An American Werewolf in London
The Howling
Before Joe Dante gave us "Gremlins," he made this stylish werewolf flick. It became a cult hit, and spawned several sequels.
Nightbreed
Wolf
Advertisement
tmdb
Which '80s horror classic is this?
Day of the Dead
Night of the Living Dead
From Beyond
The Return of the Living Dead
This comedy zombie flick gave a new twist to the genesis of the living dead. Two goofy guys accidentally release a gas that brings the dead back to life, and hilarity ensues.
YouTube
Which '80s horror classic is this?
Friday the 13th, Part II
Sleepaway Camp
After the runaway success of the original "Friday the 13th," any number of movies featuring blood-spattered campers were made. This one abandons subtlety in favor of body count.
A Nightmare on Elm Street, Part III
Hostel
tmdb
Which '80s horror classic is this?
Critters
Creepshow
Stephen King often puts himself into his movies, but in this one he takes over one entire segment of the anthology. "The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill" will give you a whole new perspective on meteors.
The Goonies
Hellraiser
Advertisement
tmdb
Which '80s horror classic is this?
The Mist
The Fog
Adrienne Barbeau proved herself the queen of schlock horror with this chiller. Undead pirates in the fog terrorize a small town.
Halloween 3: Season of the Witch
A Nightmare on Elm Street
Paramount Pictures
Which '80s horror classic is this?
Cujo
Return of the Living Dead
Ghoulies
Pet Sematary
Fred Gwynne, known to '70s kids as Herman Munster, plays the creepy neighbor across the street in this tale of undead pets and people. You'll never want a cat again!
tmdb
Which '80s horror classic is this?
Halloween
Friday the 13th
Here's the one that started the '80s wave of blood-drenched teen horror. The last scene of the movie is still one of the best jump-scares in horror history.
Sleepaway Camp
Phantasm
Advertisement
tmdb
Which '80s horror classic is this?
Lost Boys
Gremlins
Poltergeist
Near Dark
If you thought Lance Henriksen only did sci-fi/horror movies, you'll be surprised to see him playing the leader of a vampire band in this one. In a unique twist, vampirism can be cured by blood transfusions in this one.
The Movie DB
Which '80s horror classic is this?
Night of the Demon
Aliens
James Cameron took over the "Alien" franchise and created the most quotable sci-fi movie of all time. Almost every line in this thing is a classic.
Hellraiser: Bloodlines
Lost Boys
tmdb
Which '80s horror classic is this?
Return of the Living Dead
Motel Hell
Night of the Creeps
This movie is a mashup of slasher flick, alien-invasion tale and zombie movie. It did very poorly at the box office originally, but is now a big cult favorite.
Killer Klowns from Outer Space
Advertisement
YouTube
Which '80s horror classic is this?
Prophecy
Night of the Demon
A group of high school Bigfoot hunters head into the woods, only to discover that Sasquatch is the least of their worries. This was made in 1980, when apparently Bigfoot was more of a menace than a video curiosity.
Ghoulies
Gremlins
tmdb
Which '80s horror classic is this?
Aliens
Night of the Comet
This teen-horror flick is another mashup, this time of sci-fi and zombie horror. A comet passes over the earth, and most of humanity is dissolved into piles of dust. The few survivors must escape "comet zombies" who only got a light dose of the comet's dust.
Videodrome
The Lost Boys
YouTube
Which '80s horror classic is this?
My Bloody Valentine
Silent Night, Deadly Night
Halloween II
You can't keep a good lunatic down, so Michael Myers returns for this sequel. Jamie Lee Curtis and Donald Pleasance reprise their roles, making it watchable.
Shocker
Advertisement
YouTube
Which '80s horror classic is this?
My Bloody Valentine
You'll think twice about taking your sweetheart out for Valentine's Day after seeing this one. A gas mask-wearing maniac stalks teens (of course) who scoff at the killer's legend and go out to celebrate.
Silent Night, Deadly Night
Phantasm
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre II
YouTube
Which '80s horror classic is this?
Scanners
The Fly
Fright Night
Videodrome
"Videodrome" is a twisted techno-horror flick that played on fears of technological addiction and loss of identity. Debbie Harry, lead singer of Blondie, has a memorable starring role.
YouTube
Which '80s horror classic is this?
Halloween
Chopping Mall
Pumpkinhead
With a mix of monster horror and Halloween spook, "Pumpkinhead" was a hit at the box office. Naturally, sequels were made, but none of them did as well as the original.
Motel Hell
Advertisement
YouTube
Which '80s horror classic is this?
Videodrome
Scanners
Ever wished you could stare at someone and make their head explode? Well, maybe not, but the heroes and villains in the movie can do just that. One of the "exploding head" scenes has become a very popular GIF meme.
The Thing
Re-Animator
YouTube
Which '80s horror classic is this?
Texas Chainsaw Massacre II
Motel Hell
If you've ever been out in the country and stopped off at a quaint little motel, you won't do that again after seeing this movie. The motel owners run a sausage factory, and it doesn't take a genius to guess what they use for meat.
Sleepaway Camp
Night of the Creeps
The MovieDB
Which '80s horror classic is this?
Trucks
Maximum Overdrive
Christine
Only Stephen King could simultaneously make a car terrifying and popular. After the movie came out, classic Plymouth Fury models became hard to find at car auctions.
Fright Night
Advertisement
YouTube
Which '80s horror classic is this?
Children of the Corn
Prom Night
Creepshow
Killer Klowns from Outer Space
This film was basically made to be a cult classic. Homicidal aliens land in a ship that looks like a circus tent and begin killing using things like cotton candy that mummifies its victims.
Sunn Classic Pictures
Which '80s horror classic is this?
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre II
Cujo
St. Bernards are usually cuddly, friendly dogs. That's not the case in this film, where a rabid dog terrorizes a mother and child.
Creepshow
From Beyond
YouTube
Which '80s horror classic is this?
Happy Birthday to Me
"Little House on the Prairie" star Melissa Sue Anderson and legendary actor Glenn Ford star in this horror shlockfest. On a young woman's birthday, people start to die in connection with traumatic past events.
Silent Night, Deadly Night
Creepshow
Sleepaway Camp
Advertisement
tmdb
Which '80s horror classic is this?
The Lost Boys
Maximum Overdrive
Children of the Corn
This chilling country-fried horror flick was based on a short story by Stephen King. It's now gone on to a dizzying number of sequels.
Village of the Damned
YouTube
Which '80s horror classic is this?
My Bloody Valentine
Happy Birthday to Me
Prom Night
In the '80s, it seemed like every holiday and major event had its own horror movie. Prom Night, as you might expect, deals with high schoolers in tuxes being killed in varying ways.
Halloween
YouTube
Which '80s horror classic is this?
Basket Case
It's a horror movie about a man who carries his homicidal, hideously deformed former conjoined twin around in a basket, seeking revenge on the doctors who separated them. It's wholesome family entertainment!
Creepshow
Motel Hell
The Evil Dead
Advertisement
YouTube
Which '80s horror classic is this?
Gremlins
Ghoulies
Critters
The Gate
Is there anything more wholesome than a bunch of kids digging a hole in the yard for fun? It's not so much fun when they unleash a horde of tiny demons bent on death and destruction.
YouTube
Which '80s horror classic is this?
The Fog
Cujo
The Howling
They Live
"Rowdy" Roddy Piper was one of the kings of '80s B-movies. In this one, he plays one of the only people who can see that aliens have infiltrated and taken over human society.
YouTube
Which '80s horror classic is this?
Videodrome
Scanners
TerrorVision
Satellite TV was still a fairly new technology in the '80s. It was only natural that a horror movie make use of the big dishes, postulating that one made contact with an alien civilization bent on slaughter.
Creepshow
Advertisement
YouTube
Which '80s horror classic is this?
Poltergeist
House
"Greatest American Hero" star William Katt headlined the cast of this demon-drenched flick. He played a troubled writer who inherited the house from his aunt ... and found out that the bequest wasn't exactly a gift.
Fright Night
The Lost Boys
YouTube
Which '80s horror classic is this?
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3
The subtitle of this one, "Dream Warriors," indicated a shift in the franchise. The kids terrorized by Freddy realize that in the dream world, they can have powers just like he can.
Videodrome
Re-Animator
The Shining
YouTube
Which '80s horror classic is this?
Gremlins
The Gate
Critters
Capitalizing on the success of "Gremlins" and other creature-based horror flicks, "Critters" made its baddies somewhat cute. They were less cute when the killing began.
Gremlins II: The New Batch
Advertisement
tmdb
Which '80s horror classic is this?
Christine
The Dead Zone
Stephen King ruled '80s horror, and this was one of his best. Christopher Walken plays Johnny, a man who develops psychic powers that warn him of impending doom after he nearly dies in a car wreck. Martin Sheen is amazing as an evil politician.
Nightbreed
Near Dark
You Got:
/50
n/a